2023-04-12 Glenwood NM

Invited to my friends’ New Mexico digs in Apache Creek, I drove east from the Safford/Thatcher region of Arizona. My route carried me through the upper basin of the Gila River and past Glenwood, home of the famous “Cat Walk”. I’ve toured the Catwalk in the past, and wasn’t planning to explore there on this day. Instead, on advice from my friends in Apache Creek, I drove to the Glenwood Fishery, only a quarter mile from the highway I traveled. 

As many times as I explored this area in past years, the Glenwood Fishery escaped my notice. And that’s a shame, because it is a worthwhile place to meet birds. Not quite time for the winter visitors to leave, I found Chipping Sparrows, White-Throated Sparrows, and resident Song Sparrows here.

I spent most of my efforts during this brief visit exploring the trail past the southern shore of the pond at the low end of the compound. There, I enjoyed American Wigeons, Cinnamon Teal, and Common Mergansers. With the early morning light at my back, the birds on the pond looked especially nice to me.

Yellow Warblers trilled their songs from nearby high trees, and Pine Siskins sang their buzzy songs from high in the surrounding canopy, but were content to remain beyond my camera reach. I was lucky to capture a Yellow Warbler as it descended to the saplings at the pond’s edge. Black Phoebes patrolled the shores, as is their habit in such environments.

I left the hatchery after about an hour, and resumed my journey northeast to spend time with my friends in Apache Creek.